


The Lost Boys

by GryffindorQueen1



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Charlie Weasley is a good brother, Getting Together, Harry Talks to Dragons, M/M, Motherly Dragons, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Oblivious Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2020-12-09 14:16:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20996165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GryffindorQueen1/pseuds/GryffindorQueen1
Summary: Cedric believes Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire and is determined to protect him. And if he has more than one motivation for it? So what?





	1. Make it Shine

Harry glanced at his fellow champion, still in stunned disbelief at his horrible luck. He hadn't wanted to be in the tournament. He had said as much the night it was announced. The green eyed boy wanted nothing to do with it.

"Harry, did you put your name in?" Cedric spoke softly enough that only the 14 year old could hear him.

"No! I don't want to be in the tournament." Harry was miserable. His eyes displayed his terror at having been chosen.

Cedric's eyes roved Harry's face, examining his expression and body language before nodding. He clasped Harry's hand gently but reassuringly. "I believe you."

"Obviously 'e did enter 'imself!" Madam Maxime spoke shrilly, anger twisting her expression. "Dumbledore! This is cheating!"

"Harry. Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore spoke calmly.

"No, Sir." Harry shook his head back and forth. His hand subconsciously clenched around Cedric's, desperate for an anchor in the swirling sea of his emotions. He was very aware of everybody watching him closely. Snape made a soft noise of impatient disbelief in the shadows.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" Professor Dumbledore asked patiently, ignoring his potions master.

"No!" Harry spoke vehemently. He just wanted them to believe him.

"Obviously he is lying!" Karkaroff barked, his dark eyes glinting maliciously. Snape was shaking his head now, scowling like Harry had spit in his potion.

"Mr. Crouch… Mr. Bagman… As our objective judges, surely you will agree this is most irregular?" Karkaroff turned to their judges.

Bagman looked rather nervous and instead chose to let Mr. Crouch answer. The older man stepped from the shadows and into the firelight.

"We must follow the rules and the rules clearly state that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament." Crouch spoke curtly.

"I demand we be allowed to resubmit the rest of the names again." Karkaroff had a very ugly look on his face. "You WILL set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair."

"The Goblet's gone out. It won't relight until the next tournament." Ludo Bagman spoke.

""There is still the matter of the blatant cheating in THIS Tournament! Durmstrang most certainly won't be competing in the next one!" Karkaroff was angry, pointing his finger in Harry's face. "I have half a mind to leave now!"

"You can't leave your champion now. He has to compete. Magically binding contract. Are you really implying that a 14 year old boy confounded an ancient goblin made object?" Moody stumped closer to Karkaroff. "More likely someone entered his name in an attempt to cause him harm."

"Moody, old man. What a thing to say." Bagman fidgeted uncomfortably.

"We all know Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn't discovered six plots to murder him before lunch." Karkaroff said loudly. "Apparently he is teaching his students the same paranoia."

"Imagining things, am I? Seeing things? It takes a skilled witch or wizard to put the boy's name in that goblet." Moody snarled.

"What evidence is there of that?" Madam Maxime threw her hands into the air.

"Because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object! I'm guessing they submitted Potter's name under a fourth school so he would be the only choice!" Moody snapped.

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody." Karkaroff said coldly.

"There are those who will turn innocent occasions to their advantage." Moody retorted menacingly. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff. As you ought to remember."

"Alastor!" Dumbledore spoke warningly. "I don't know how this occurred but it did. We have no choice but to accept it as young Harry and Cedric have been chosen to compete."

"Dumbledore!" Madam Maxime was still unhappy.

"If you have an alternative, then I would be delighted to hear it." Dumbledore's tone ended the discussion. Madam Maxime, Karkaroff and Snape all looked furious. Bagman was oddly excited though.

Crouch gave out the rules and first task before dismissing everyone.

Cedric walked Harry to the staircase. "Harry. I believe you. And I won't let the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws give you trouble."

"Thanks, Cedric." Harry finally let go of the older boy's hand before hurrying up the stairs to get to Gryffindor tower.


	2. Safe and Sound

Cedric was frowning at several of his housemates who had given Harry a dirty look while he walked passed their table. "That's enough. He didn't ask for this."

"But Cedric. He's taking away Hufflepuff's chance to shine." One of them spoke.

"He didn't ask for this." Cedric repeated. "He wanted to get out of the tournament. They're forcing him to compete because the Goblet makes a magically binding contract. He doesn't compete, he loses his magic. I won't have you guys giving him a hard time." He had never been so stern before.

"Yes, Cedric." The fifth year looked down.

"That goes for all of you. Leave Harry alone." Cedric warned his entire table. He finished eating and went to sit at the Gryffindor table with Harry. "How're you doing, Harry?"

"Doing Okay." Harry looked exhausted and upset. Ron wasn't sitting by him and was in fact shooting venomous looks at the bespectacled lad. 

"Somehow I don't believe that." Cedric added more food to Harry's plate and then set a comforting hand on the smaller boy's neck. He glared at Ron Weasley, looking unusually menacing. Harry was his friend and he wouldn't allow people to be mean. "Come on." He tugged Harry up and took him to the kitchens to eat in peace.

Harry smiled at Cedric and ate more now that he wasn't being glared at by every member of the school population. He finished up and thanked the elves before sighing. "I'm not sure I'm ready for the day."

"Go tell Madam Pomfrey that you aren't feeling well." Cedric normally wouldn't suggest skiving off but he knew why Harry wasn't feeling well. 

"They'll think I'm a coward." Harry was spiraling into a depression. This was already taking a toll on him mentally.

"So what? I'll tell them off." Cedric brought Harry to Madam Pomfrey and took the Matron aside to explain why Harry wasn't feeling great. The Mediwitch had a huge soft spot for the young Potter and immediately sequestered him in one of the private rooms used for more serious cases. Cedric went off to class after seeing Madam Pomfrey give Harry a dreamless sleep potion.

The Hufflepuff went to class and then was cornered by the Weasley Twins. They both had unusually serious expressions.

"Gred and I felt it necessary to warn you that if you hurt Harry, we will gladly hurt you." George spoke.

"Harry is more our little brother than Ron is. And he is very precious to us. And we've seen the way you look at him. All heart eyes." Fred added, twirling his wand. "So. You break his heart, we break your entire skeleton. Got it?"

"Yeah." Cedric nodded. "Might want to tell Ronald to knock his tantrum off. He's upsetting Harry a lot by not believing him."

"We will. Have a nice day." George and Fred vanished as quickly as they had shown up.

Cedric was walking to the kitchens for lunch instead of the Great Hall, blinking when he realized that he hadn't denied he had been looking at Harry a certain way. He had admired the younger seeker since seeing him fly in the smaller boy's first year.

The Hufflepuff boy ate distractedly and went over all his interactions with Harry, seeing exactly how the Twins could think he was interested. He blushed faintly when he did realize that he was in fact interested in the bespectacled lad. The tall boy went off to his next class and sighed, wanting to be in the infirmary to see Harry.

Cedric practically sprinted to the infirmary once class was over. His next period was technically a self study anyways. He skid to a stop right outside the doors of the infirmary, caught his breath and strolled in like he hadn't just ran from across the castle. "Madam Pomfrey?"

"Ah, Mr. Diggory. Mr. Potter has just woken from his nap." Madam Pomfrey beamed at the prefect. She guided him to the private room and left the two alone after telling Cedric to make sure Harry finished his lunch.

"Hey, Harry. You feeling better?" Cedric sat in a chair next to the bed that the Potter was curled up on.

"A bit." Harry ate his lunch slowly, looking at Cedric in confusion. He was unsure why the older boy was going out of his way for him. Frankly it flattered him and also flustered him because he had caught himself checking Cedric out a few times.

"Good. Stay here til tonight." Cedric ordered gently. "And finish your lunch or Madam Pomfrey will murder me."

Harry flashed a grin. "She is pretty intimidating when it comes to her patients and their health."

"Yeah but that means she actually cares." Cedric smiled. "I want to be a healer."

"Really?" Harry blinked. "That's awesome."

"I want to specialize in pediatrics." Cedric admitted. "There aren't enough healers that specialize in it. Everyone wants to be big time healers who work with creature wounds and spell damage."

"You're brilliant." Harry burst out. He blushed faintly at the outburst. 

"Thanks, Harry." The older boy smiled softly and leaned over to hug Harry. "Maybe I'll take care of your future kids one day."

"Oh… Uh… I don't like girls like that." Harry looked at the plate that had contained his lunch, fidgeting awkwardly.

"Harry. Male wizards can get pregnant if they have the gene." Cedric explained. "Did no one explain that? And it's okay to like men. Wizards don't discriminate based on sexuality."

Harry stared at him with huge emerald eyes. "What? I had no clue. No one tells me anything."

"I'll bring you some books on it, okay?" The Hufflepuff hummed softly. "You can ask me anything and I'll do my best to answer. After all, I'm a prefect. It's in my job description." He winked.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Harry was suspicious. "No one is nice without a hidden reason."

"I want to be your friend and I believe that you did not enter your name in the Goblet of Fire." Cedric stated plainly. "You looked like you were going to faint when it came out. And I'm on your side no matter what anyone else thinks."

Harry deflated from his brief anger, sinking into the pillow behind him. "Oh. Well… Thanks."

"Any time." Cedric smiled before going to get his assignment from Madam Pomfrey because the next class he had was a healing class with her. He ended up with a reading assignment and chapter questions to do. He settled into the chair near Harry's bed again and read his assigned chapter.

Harry napped on and off throughout the whole hour, relaxed by Cedric's presence. The older boy made him feel so safe that it was a bit unnerving but Harry liked it.


	3. Fire Burning

"How about we start the interviews with you, Mister Potter?" Rita Skeeter simpered, reaching out to grab Harry's arm.

"We aren't giving interviews without Headmaster Dumbledore present. Or any of the other School heads." Cedric moved between Rita and Harry.

"I'm sorry, Miss Skeeter. All interviews must be conducted in the presence of Headmaster Dumbledore, Madam Maxime or Headmaster Karkaroff." Ludo Bagman came over. "Three of the competitors are of age but they're all still in school so you need to have their Head Teacher present."

"That's fine." Rita's smile became more strained. She was obviously displeased about not getting the Boy Who Lived all to herself.

~November 21st~

Harry hurried up to Cedric, grabbing the older boy's hand and pulled him to a secluded area. "Dragons. Dragons are the first task."

"Are you sure?" Cedric frowned, readjusting his hold on Harry's hand and started rubbing with his thumb on Harry's wrist bone. He was still saddened by the other boy's obviously underweight body. It made him want to feed Harry constantly to get some padding on the boy's bones.

"Yeah. I saw them. They're in the Forbidden Forest." Harry nodded, not even registering Cedric rubbing his wrist. It was just normal to him now.

"Thanks, Harry." Cedric smiled softly. "Let's go to the kitchens and we can discuss strategies, yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded quickly. He followed Cedric willingly, focusing steadfastly on the back of Cedric's bronze hair. The bespectacled lad tripped slightly as they walked, crashing into Cedric's back. "Oomph! My bad. Sorry."

"It's okay." Cedric was amused and then tickled the pear in the painting. He let Harry go in first and chuckled as the younger boy was swarmed by elves. 

The two ended up missing the last two classes but ate dinner in the kitchens before parting ways. They had set up another meeting for the next day to continue strategizing.

~November 24th, First Task~

Harry paced nervously while the other three competitors competed, wanting desperately to see Cedric and make sure he was okay. He had heard Bagman say something about Cedric being hurt and it had made his heart seize in terror.

He took a deep breath when it was his turn and carefully edged out into the arena. He summoned his broom and then noticed a snake that had somehow gotten in. 

_ 'What are you doing in here?' _ He hissed softly to the snake which slithered closer.

_ 'A Ssssspeaker? I came to keep Ili company. She is most unhappy at being moved from her nesting grounds.'  _ The snake hissed back before slithering to the Hungarian Horntail. 

Harry mounted his broom and flew closer to the dragon, seeing the wary look in the creature's eyes.  _ 'I do not mean harm. There is a false egg in your nest.'  _ Harry had changed his plan on the fly. He repeated the message a few times to make sure the female dragon understood him.

**_'A false egg?'_** Ili lowered her head and smelled her nest, finding the one that looked and smelled different. She roared and blew flames at the judges, missing by a few feet. Ili nudged the false egg out and sent it flying. **_'Take it. It holds none of my children so I will not fight. But touch my real eggs and we will fight. It is cruel for us to be yanked from our home for sport, nestling.'_**

_ 'Thank you. And I agree. They should not have used you and your eggs.'  _ Harry hissed and landed, scooping the metal egg up and striding to the exit. He was scowling heavily even though he had finished in the shortest amount of time. He went into the medical tent to check on Cedric. 

"Harry!" Cedric stood up, half his face covered with burn paste. He pulled the smaller boy to him and started checking him for wounds before sighing in relief when he found none. "You're okay."

"Yeah." Harry nodded stiffly a few times. He set his egg down and just hugged Cedric, trembling now that his adrenaline was fading. He pressed his face into Cedric's chest, clutching at the older boy's robes.

Cedric blinked for a second and then hugged back, rubbing Harry's back firmly. He carefully backed up and got Harry to sit next to him on the cot he had been assigned. "You did so good."

"The dragons didn't want to hurt anyone. They were just trying to protect their eggs. They didn't understand why we were coming at them or why they had been taken from the reserve." Harry clung to the older boy. "Ili didn't even know there was a fake egg in her nest."

"Ili?" Cedric tucked a blanket around Harry's shoulders.

"The Hungarian Horntail." Harry nodded, accepting the Pepper-Up potion Madam Pomfrey gave him. He drank it and shuddered.

"How do you know what the dragon's name is?" Cedric then remembered that Harry could talk to snakes. "Parseltongue works on dragons?"

"Apparently." The black haired boy curled under Cedric's arm. They listened to the scores being announced now, sides pressed together.

"Karkaroff is so biased." Harry scowled slightly. "Krum caused the dragon to crush her eggs." He hopped off the cot and started walking out.

"Harry, where are you going?" Cedric followed, carrying both eggs. 

"To check on the dragons." Harry said it casually while following the roaring of angered mother dragons. The lad didn't even notice when Cedric was dragged off by his friends. He darted through security near the pens and straight towards the Chinese Fireball.  _ 'Please don't hurt them! They are upset about the loss of your eggs also! They did not want to bring you here!' _

** _'My clutch was destroyed!'_ ** Xifeng roared, spraying fire at a group of dragon keepers who barely had time to shield.

_ 'I know. It is terrible. But harming them will not bring your eggs back. _ ' Harry hissed, getting closer to the dragon and ignoring the panicked shouting from the keepers.  _ 'I will avenge your eggs. They won't get away with this.' _

He had no clue where the words were coming from but they were pouring from him as he got closer and closer. He was finally close enough to rest his head on the dragon. Harry started stroking the great dragon's scales, tucking himself against the scarlet body of the dragon.

** _'Are you alone, nestling?'_ ** Xifeng had gone from angry to sad.

_ 'My mother and father are dead.'  _ Harry nodded. 

** _'I am sorry to hear that.' _ ** The dragon rumbled, realizing that Harry could understand her pain a bit. 

_ 'I was very young when it happened.'  _ Harry moved away from the dragon and somehow managed to evade being grabbed by any of the keepers up until running into Charlie.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Charlie shook Harry before hugging him tightly. He had been scared to death. 

"I'm sorry, Charlie." Harry was sorry for scaring Charlie but not for doing the thing that had scared the older man.

"How did you calm Xifeng down?" Charlie was curious, casually leading Harry to one of the other pens.

"Parseltongue. It works on dragons too." Harry explained. "There was a snake in Ili's arena. And I was talking to it and then tried talking to Ili. It worked."

"Oh. I didn't know you were a Parselmouth." Charlie was excited though. "I wish there were more Speakers in the world so they could help us with the dragons."

Harry recognized the dragon in the pen as a Swedish Short Snout.  _ 'Hello. I am Harry. What is your name?' _

** _'I am Elin but the keepers refer to me as Moa instead.'_ ** The Swedish Short Snout responded, intrigued by the speaker. She was the oldest of the four dragons.

"You guys should know that her name is Elin. Not Moa." Harry told Charlie.  _ 'Are you feeling okay after the atrocities earlier? _ ''

** _'I am, nestling. I did not wish to harm the human but he was going for my eggs.' _ ** Elin could smell Cedric on Harry. 

_ 'The humans put a fake egg into your nest, Elin.' _ Harry informed the dragon.  _ 'Our task was to take the egg with the least amount of damage to us and your real eggs. _ '

** _'That is cruel and barbaric. Especially to Xifeng. This is only her third clutch.' _ ** Elin sounded indignant.  ** _'She and Ili are the youngest. Ili had her fifth clutch here. Rianne is a bit older like myself.'_ **

_ 'I will ensure that this does not happen again. It was unfair for them to take you from your home. _ ' Harry then turned to Charlie. "Elin is upset because Xifeng and Rianne are young. Xifeng has only clutched three times and now most or her eggs are destroyed and Ili is on her fifth clutch."

"We're not happy either. I think this is one of the stupidest things they could have done." Charlie led Harry to Rianne's pen to check on her. He watched with avid interest as Harry chatted with the dragon for a bit. 

"I'm going to go up to the castle and find Cedric. Bye, Charlie!" Harry hugged Charlie and then darted off again to find the Hufflepuff that had become his best friend.

Charlie watched Harry go, shaking his head in amusement. He could tell that Harry had very strong feelings for Cedric but didn't realize it yet. He turned and went to find his boss, telling the older man that they needed to get Harry into the Dragon Keeper program as soon as the boy graduates. None of them wanted that potential wasted.


	4. Strong

"Mister Potter, champions are expected to have a date and to lead the first dance." Minerva felt bad for her cub but the rules had to be followed.

"Professor, please." Harry's eyes were huge. He really did not want to dance or try and ask someone out.

"I'm sorry, Mister Potter. It's tradition." Minerva apologized and went to help another student.

Harry walked off dejectedly, sure he was going to attend alone and make a fool of himself. Or he would get a partner and fail at dancing. He had two left feet. He wandered for hours, seeming blank.

"Harry." Cedric grabbed Harry's wrist and turned the smaller boy around. "What's wrong? Has someone said something to you?"

Harry slowly focused on Cedric, blinking huge green eyes. He couldn't help but feel reassured by the older boy. Cedric had a friendly feeling around him.

"Now, what's got you upset?" Cedric smiled softly, leading Harry to a bench in a little alcove.

"The Ball." Harry mumbled, looking at the ground. He scuffed his shoe against the floor. He felt very awkward.

"The Ball? What about it?" Cedric hummed, knowing to let Harry speak at his own pace but to also give a little prompting. Getting Harry to discuss what was truly bothering him was like pulling teeth.

"The dancing. AndNoOneWillWantToGoWithMe." Harry spoke quickly through his second sentence.

"The dancing and what was the second part?" Cedric had a pretty good idea what it was but he wanted confirmation before addressing it.

"No one wants to go with the fake Champion." Harry sounded morose. His whole being screamed sad and dejected.

"First off, I know several people who would like to go with you. And secondly, you are a legitimate champion even if you didn't sign up yourself." The bronze haired boy narrowed his eyes, hugging Harry close. 

Harry didn't truly believe that but he didn't want Cedric to abandon him. He curled up slightly, taking guilty comfort in the embrace. 

The Hufflepuff spent an hour with Harry, distracting him by asking about the dragons. They were waiting to move them back to the reserve and Harry made it a point to visit every day to see them.

Cedric delivered Harry back to the Gryffindor common room before dinner to drop his bags off and then took Harry to the kitchens to eat. He enjoyed the time with the bespectacled lad.

It was a few days later when Cedric turned and looked at Harry intensely. "Go to the ball with me?"

"What?" Harry choked on his pumpkin juice.

"Go go the Yule Ball with me. Please." Cedric smiled softly. He wanted to take Harry to the Ball.

"You don't mean that. You're just saying that because you feel sorry for me." Harry's face was pale and he practically ran out of the kitchens.

Cedric was frozen for a minute and then had a horrible gut wrenching feeling along with feeling intense stares. He turned and gulped. The Head Boy had never seen the house elves look so hostile. He slowly stood up and hurried out of the kitchen, searching for Harry but crashed into Luna Lovegood.

"You've made a grave mistake, haven't you?" Luna's airy voice startled Cedric a bit. "The Nargles are the cause of your misfortune. But you can fix it."

"How?" Cedric was willing to believe that Luna was truly a Seer and Knew things. He knew Pandora Lovegood was a bonafide Seer and had probably passed her talents to her daughter.

"Explain yourself fully to Harry. He is not observant to the feelings towards him beyond negative ones. His home life has not been kind." Luna then pointed in the direction that Harry had gone before skipping off.

Cedric tore off in the direction, calling apologies to anyone he bumped into. He found Harry just about to vanish into a corridor Cedric had never seen. "Harry!" He grabbed the younger boy's arm. 

Harry flinched, trying to pull his arm free. His brilliant emerald eyes were wet with unshed tears. 

"Harry. Listen to me. Please." Cedric led Harry into the corridor and startled when the wall closed behind them. He was out of breath from his sprint through the castle. "I want to go with you because I LIKE you. Not because I feel sorry for you. Please. I'm not doing this out of pity."

"Why? Why do you like me?" Harry's voice was broken. "I'm just Harry. The freak who lived."

"You aren't a freak! Harry, you lived because your mother loves you so much that her magic protected you even after her death! You are a wonderful person who cares so much." Cedric spoke urgently but never raised his voice, knowing instinctively that it wouldn't help his case. "You've amazed me since I saw you fly the first time and now that we're friends, I see how good you are and how much you want to protect everyone. I like you because you're Harry, not because you are the boy who lived."

Harry made a quiet noise and let Cedric hold him tight, pretending he wasn't crying. He could feel Cedric's magic reaching to his and shuddered at the warmth he was enveloped in. It was intimate to allow your magic to touch another person's magic unless you were in a committed relationship or part of a family unit. Bit by bit Harry's body lost its tension until Cedric was holding him on his feet.

The Hufflepuff snorted silently when he realized Harry had fallen asleep, carefully lifting the boy up and took several secret passages to the Head Boy's Room, tucking Harry into the bed to rest. Cedric's brown eyes took in the boy's face, watching Harry for a few minutes until he left the room. He felt guilty for watching Harry sleep. The head boy transfigured the couch in his private sitting room into a bed and laid down to sleep.


	5. Breathe

Cedric stared at Harry, taking in the black haired boy's face as they danced. The outside world had faded from his notice, attention solely on the younger boy. He noticed an almost invisible spray of freckles that were only visible due to Harry's Winter pale skin. The boy had never noticed it before that moment.

"Cedric." Harry's cheeks had turned red, having noticed the intense look in the Hufflepuff's eyes. It was strange for Harry to have someone that focused on him.

"I'm not sorry. You are very gorgeous." Cedric stated bluntly. He led Harry to the table so they could rest their feet for a bit. He kept a hand on the back of Harry's chair, putting on a subtle display of protection and possession. "Are you thirsty?"

"No, I'm okay. Thank you though." Harry couldn't deny that he liked it. He had never felt like he belonged to anyone except for Sirius and that was in a much different way. He belonged to Sirius in a way a child belongs to their parents. Cedric's claim made him feel a bit giddy but also a bit frightened. He wasn't sure of boundaries or anything to do with belonging to someone romantically.

"If you need anything, let me know please." Cedric requested gently. His warm brown eyes sparkled with care and affection for the smaller boy. He watched as Harry looked around the room, taking in all the decorations. "Oh the Weird Sisters are playing next."

"I've never really heard much of their music." Harry admitted quietly. Most of it had been too loud and aggressive for his taste. 

"We can go now if you want." Cedric offered. He didn't mind leaving. It was hot in the Great Hall and he wanted some air. He held Harry's hand while they left, leading him to his quarters. 

"Thank you." Harry had been a bit overwhelmed. He sank down onto the plush sofa and groaned. His muscles were letting him know that his tension through the Yule Ball had not been wanted. Harry took off his shoes once he noticed that Cedric had done so.

"Any time, Harry." Cedric pulled off his outer robes, leaving himself in the dress shirt and black trousers. "You can take off your robes if you want. It'll help you cool down."

Harry removed the emerald green robes and sighed in relief. "Oh that's much better. It was awful in there."

"I'm not much for crowds either." Cedric correctly guessed that it hadn't been just the heat bothering Harry. He had noticed how the boy tended to shy away from big crowds. "It's inevitable though. But once the year is over, everything will calm down."

"I hate it. I hate it all. I hate the attention, the fame, everything. I would give up the fame and everything else if I could have my parents back. No one ever thinks about that! I'm the Boy-Who-Lived-While-His-Parents-Died." Harry was suddenly emotionally volatile, hands clenching into fists. "I never wanted to be in this stupid Tournament! Why did they have to bring it back?"

Cedric let Harry rant, opening his arms once Harry's voice slowed. He folded the smaller male into a hug once Harry had shuffled closer. The bronze haired boy didn't speak for a while, knowing that wasn't what Harry needed at the moment. It was silent except for Harry's ragged breathing and Cedric's steady breathing.

"Thanks…" Harry was embarrassed now but made no move to shift himself away from Cedric. It was warm and safe in the older boy's arms. 

Cedric just smiled softly, pressing his lips gently to Harry's forehead. He heard the sharp inhalation and the nearly silent whimper that followed. It pained him to know that Harry wasn't used to affection. "I have you. Just focus on me for now, okay? Deep breaths." The older boy inhaled in an exaggerated manner, coaxing Harry to copy him until they were breathing in sync. 

It didn't take long for Harry to nearly fall asleep on his feet. The only thing keeping him upright was Cedric's steady hold on Harry. The emerald eyed boy felt himself being guided somewhere and then he knew nothing more.


End file.
